


Do I Deserve This?

by miloquin



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Anxiety, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Drinking, Fluff and Angst, Gay Keith (Voltron), Hurt/Comfort, Insomnia, M/M, Panic Attacks, Self-Doubt, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Smoking, klance, klangst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-15
Updated: 2020-05-19
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:55:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24203989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miloquin/pseuds/miloquin
Summary: Keith knows he's being too hard on himself but he can't help it. It's always been that way.
Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Kudos: 8





	1. Chapter 1

Keith knows he’s being too hard on himself but he can’t help it. The question “Do I deserve this?” often pops up in his head whenever something good or unbelievable happens to him. Keith would start thinking how bazaar or insane it is for such a thing, a good thing whether it be big or small, to happen to him and whenever it does he thinks or rather he _knows_ he doesn’t deserve it. He can’t help but convince himself that good things just aren’t meant for him.

The question “Do I deserve this?” pops up in his head when Shiro gifts him a set of art materials. Shiro tells Keith it’s a welcoming and congratulatory gift that he’s about to start college soon and that the materials will be of use once he starts his art classes. Keith takes a moment before saying anything to Shiro; scared that once he opens his mouth he’ll probably say the wrong thing, worse maybe something offensive. Keith looks down at his lap, where the box filled with art materials is placed in. _This is a lot of materials,_ Keith thinks to himself. He looks up at Shiro, who has been sitting beside him on the couch the entire time and sees him smiling fondly at him. Keith wonders for a moment what Shiro is thinking. 

Keith realizes that a minute has probably passed and that he should really say something back. “You really didn’t have to but thank you for this, Shiro, I can’t wait to use it.” he finally says and smiles at him. Keith knows that Shiro knows that he already has his own materials but still wonders for a bit why Shiro would gift him more. “I know you already have your own set of materials but since you’re about to start college, it wouldn’t hurt to have more. I’m glad you like it.” Shiro tells him as he scratches the back of his neck. _Cute._ Keith thinks.

Keith places the box down on the coffee table in front of them then turns back to Shiro. “So, have you chosen a movie yet? Or do I have to pick again this time?” Keith says as he gets into a more comfortable position on the couch tucking his legs underneath him as he gives Shiro a sly smile. “You bet I already picked one! I won’t let you choose another sci-fi movie this time.” Shiro answers back and laughing a bit afterwards as he grabs the remote from the armrest beside him. Shiro turns their television on and switches it to Netflix.

As Shiro searches for his chosen movie, Keith glances back down to the box of materials on the coffee table and thinks how grateful he is that Shiro has gifted him this. Then again, questions start popping up in his head. _Do I really need these? Sure._ Keith thinks. He is taking the arts course after all and it would definitely be of use but.. _Do I deserve this?_ He thinks of what good deed he has done to Shiro for him to gift him such a nice set of art materials. Keith sadly can’t recall anything memorable and it slowly starts stressing him out.

* * *

Weeks pass by and the next thing Keith knows is that he’s going to start orientation week tomorrow. One can obviously tell Keith is lying if he told them he wasn’t nervous at all. In fact Keith is very nervous. Nervous to be surrounded by strangers once again after going through the same thing during his first day in high school.

Keith isn’t a very sociable person and crowds make him feel very uneasy. The only reason he managed to get through uncomfortable situations is because of Shiro. If he hadn’t met Shiro during his orientation week in high school then he most likely wouldn’t have gone through anything alone. Shiro is a year ahead of Keith, and has been like an older brother to him. He has helped Keith through multiple things in the past few years and Keith is thankful for that. 

Keith has shut himself in his room after dinner, telling Shiro that he’s going to sleep early tonight so he can wake up early tomorrow morning. Now Keith is currently trying to calm down by telling himself “Shiro is going to be in the orientation tomorrow. Just not going to be physically beside you.” though he only mutters the second part. He keeps repeating this as he lies down on his bed and gets under his covers while staring at the ceiling.  
Shiro is on his second year in college. It’s the sophomore, junior, and senior’s turn to welcome the freshman at their university and Shiro is part of the welcoming committee which Keith silently thanks for.

There are too much things Keith is thinking about. Possibilities of what can happen tomorrow and he’s dreading it. Keith starts getting anxious as he tosses and turns around in his bed. When Keith starts thinking late at night there’s no stopping, he doesn’t know how and when to stop thinking and calm down; to just shut his mind up whenever he wants to.

Keith turns to his right side once again and stares out his window that is slightly covered by his beige curtains. The stars are out and it looks like it’s a clear sky tonight with barely any clouds. He stares as nothing in particular as he lets his mind drift off from one thought to another, not stopping. Keith takes a glance at his bedside table and the digital clock placed on top of it shows him that it’s already 12:34 AM. He sighs as he reads the time. _I should really try to get some sleep._ He thinks.

Keith pulls his blanket higher until he feels the edge of it brushes just below his chin. He closes his eyes to force himself to sleep and desperately tries to stop thinking about tomorrow. 

* * *

  
The alarm from his digital clock wakes Keith up from his ‘sleep’. He stirs around in bed and stretches his arms above him. Keith slightly sits up to turn the alarm off then flops back down on his bed. He takes a moment before fully sitting up. The cold morning air hits his bare arms and Keith shivers slightly making him rub both his arms. He looks to his right where his digital clock is. It shows him its 8 AM. Keith has an hour to get ready before the orientation starts which is enough time for him to shower and eat breakfast.

Keith bring his legs to the side of his bed and stands up heading straight for the bathroom that’s connected to his room. He stops just by the door where his hamper is and strips down bare so he could place his dirty clothes in it. Keith enters his bathroom and closes the door behind him. His eyes look up to the mirror and he whines at his appearance. Keith walks closer to the mirror right above his sink and examines himself. The bags underneath his eyes look darker and deeper than it usually is. Keith knows it’s from how he slept last night. He wouldn’t even consider it sleeping since he kept drifting in and out of sleep. The anxiety he started feeling and thoughts from last night making him unable to get a good night’s rest.  
Keith rubs his eyes with his right hand. He knows he can’t do anything about it now. He turns the shower knobs and feels the temperature of the water until its warm enough before hopping in. The warm water making his body relax soothes Keith’s mind and he lets out a sigh.

Shiro calls Keith for breakfast just as he was about to step out of the shower. Keith tells him he’ll be right out. He steps out of the shower and dries himself off with a towel before exiting his bathroom. Keith picks out a simple outfit. A black crew neck t-shirt paired with black ripped jeans. He puts on his favorite pair of red converse before stepping out into their shared living room. The smell of coffee and scrambled eggs on toast fill his nostrils and it makes Keith hum in delight. 

“Excited for your first day?” Shiro asks Keith as he leans on their kitchen island taking a bite out of his toast.

“It’s just orientation week. It’s not the first day of classes yet.” Keith tells him. He passes by behind Shiro to grab a mug from their cupboard and walks to the coffee machine.

“I know but this is also the first day you’ll be meeting new people.” Keith knows Shiro is eyeing him just to see what his reaction will be. He turns back around after getting coffee and walks to the other side of the island so he could sit on one of the stools. 

Keith takes a sip from his mug before answering back. “I know.” he sighs before continuing. “The thought of it is starting to stress me out and the day has barely even started.” Keith stares down at the swirling coffee in his mug. _I should’ve put a little more sugar._ He thinks.

“Hey, don’t think too much about it. I know these things make you uncomfortable but at least try to enjoy and have fun. You might just make a few friends today, you’ll never know.” Keith looks up to Shiro from his mug and sees a genuine smile on his face.   
“I might not be there beside you, but know I’ll be there when you need me. I am part of the welcoming committee after all.” Shiro stands up straighter, his smile getting contagious as he says this. 

“Alright. Thank you.” He gives Shiro a nod and a small smile. He really is thankful for Shiro. 

They sit in silence in their kitchen as they finish eating their toasts and drinking their coffee. Shiro puts their dirty plates and mugs in the sink saying he’ll wash it when they come back. Keith goes back to his room to grab his phone from his bedside table and his messenger bag from his desk. He goes back out and sees Shiro opening the door of their shared apartment on his way out. Keith follows him out not forgetting to lock the door behind him.

* * *

  
Keith and Shiro live together in an apartment that’s only a few minutes away from the university. Shiro used to have his own one bedroom apartment but after knowing that Keith will be attending the same college as him, he moved apartments and insisted Keith on moving in with him. Their apartment isn’t that big but it is specious enough where two fully grown men can live together. Their bedrooms and connected bathrooms are equal in size and are in the opposite sides of the apartment. In the middle is where their living room, kitchen, and dining table are in.

With their apartment just close by, Shiro and Keith take their time walking towards the gates of their college. They head straight for the auditorium building where the orientation will be held.

Directly outside of the building are a few folding tables, a bit for from one another, with a pair of upperclassmen students sitting behind it. In front of them are four long lines of freshmen students lining up waiting to be registered for their classes. Keith sighs uneasily upon seeing this.

“I have to go inside and prepare a few things. I’ll see you when you get in.” Shiro says as he puts a hand on Keith’s left shoulder. Keith turns to him and nods. Shiro smiles at him before leaving to go inside.

 _Well there’s no going back now. I’m already here._ Keith thinks to himself. 

He walks up to the end of one of the lines and waits for his turn to be registered. It takes a while due to the amount of people lined up but he doesn’t have to wait too long. The people behind the table get him registered with no problem and they give him instructions. He was told that he could enter the auditorium already and wait for the program to start at 9 AM. 

Keith walks up to the building doors and makes his way into the auditorium. He takes a seat somewhere by the left. He looks around and sees students piling in and taking their seats, and teachers and upperclassmen talking to each other by the side of the stage. He looks around a bit more; the auditorium is big with two floors, and red cushioned seating lined up to the back wall.   
Keith decides to use his phone while the program hasn’t started yet. He looks at the time and sees that there is around 10 minutes left before they start. 

Students start taking their seats around Keith. He doesn’t pay much attention; he knows they have to be close to the stage and are only restricted to be on the first level. 

It’s when he hears someone tap the top of a microphone twice that he knows they’ll be starting the program soon. Keith puts his phone on silent and shoves it back in his pocket. When Keith looks back up he only just noticed that the seats around him are almost fully occupied. He looks to his right and sees a girl sitting right next to him. She has short light brown hair and is wearing big circular glasses that frame her face nicely. She’s looking down at her phone, typing furiously. Keith thinks she’s probably in a heated conversation with someone this early in the morning.

Keith looks to his left and is surprised to find two more seats beside him empty. Keith isn’t going to complain because if there isn’t anybody going to sit beside him then that would just mean he has little more elbow room.

He looks back up to the stage and sees someone walk up the steps while holding a mic. Keith guesses they’re one of the teachers who’ll start the program.

The person on the stage starts talking and gets into introduction until Keith hears loud shuffling to his left. He sees a few people who are seated in front of him glance back to their left. Keith turns his head, curious as well. He sees two guys trying to get through people seated at his aisle; that’s when Keith realizes they’re headed for the empty seats right next to him. 

Keith silently sighs at this; kind of sad he loses the extra elbow room and looks back to the stage. 

The two guys plop down on their seats, unintentionally making a loud noise. Keith brings both of his arms in and puts his hands on his lap. He listens to what the person on stage is saying until the boy next to him starts whispering. Keith glances to his left and sees the boy whispering to someone to his right, looks like he’s trying to get someone’s attention. 

_At least he’s not trying to strike up a conversation with me. I wouldn’t know what to say._ Keith tells himself. Even if the whispers from the boy weren’t directed to him it still makes him feel nervous. 

“Psst. Pidge… Pidge!” the boy next to Keith says.

Keith isn’t part of this and doesn’t want to be involved in any way so he forces himself to keep focusing on the orientation that’s currently happening.

“Pidge. Psst… Pidge!”

Alright this boy is starting to get annoying and he’s very close to telling him to keep quiet, but the girl on his right beats him to it.

“What Lance? You can clearly see we’re in the middle of an orientation here.” The girl, Pidge, Keith learns that’s her name, comes to the rescue. Keith thanks her to himself.

Lance, the boy seated next to Keith, answers back in a whisper. “I thought you saved us seats? This doesn’t count if you’re apart from us!” Lance gestures to himself and the guy next to him.

Keith is starting to feel weird and uncomfortable about being in the middle of a conversation that he has no part of. He’s starting to feel suffocated. Before Pidge gets to answer back, Keith beats her to it this time.

He surprises himself when he turns his gaze from the stage to Pidge then asks her “Do you want to switch seats? Your friend seems like he wants you to be next to them.”

Now that Keith has opened his mouth and has basically hopped right into their conversation, he’s starting to regret it because both Pidge, Lance, even the other guy next to him look at Keith as if he said something unusual. He’s about to take his offer back when Pidge says “It’s alright, we don’t need to. I’m sure Lance and Hunk can wait after the orientation is over.” She says the last part more to her friends and gives them a pointed look like she’s saying _this conversation is over_ , before looking back onto the stage and continues listening.

Keith shrugs and turns his focus back to the orientation as well. He can see Lance pouting beside him as he crosses his arms over his chest and starts listening too.

Keith has a feeling this is going to be a long day.

* * *

  
The next thing Keith knows is that the orientation is over and that they will be touring the campus next. They were told all the freshmen students will be divided into groups so that it’ll be easier when they’re given a tour around the campus. Before standing up and leaving the auditorium, Keith along with the people seated around him is given a bright yellow circular sticker with the number 5 written in the middle. He places it on his shirt, just under his left clavicle before going out. 

Outside, Keith spots Shiro talking to a group of students. Shiro notices him and before his group starts moving, he gives Keith a thumb up. Simply and silently asking Keith if things are alright; Keith giving him a thumb up back telling him things are okay. Shiro smiles at him before turning his back and leaving with his group.

Keith turns back towards his group where they are gathered by the right side of the building. Their tour guide is an astronomy professor named Coran Smythe, he tells the group to call him Professor Coran rather than Professor Smythe. He has ginger colored hair and even the mustache on his upper lip is ginger; Keith finds it a cool look.

As they head to the science buildings, Keith stays just a little bit behind the group. He hasn’t talked much today but being surrounded by people alone makes him feel drained. He has to take a step back and take a breather for a while; gain his energy back.

The tour goes by in a blur and now they’re on their way to the university’s cafeteria where they’ll be having lunch with the rest of the students and teachers.

Keith feels a light buzz near his hip and takes his phone out, realizing he hasn’t switched it back from silent. He sees a text from Shiro saying that he’ll meet him in the cafeteria and that he’s taken a seat by the window near the door. Keith texts him back with a simple ‘okay’ before putting his phone back in his pocket.

Once arriving in the cafeteria, Keith immediately spots Shiro by the windows. He walks up to the table and unceremoniously flopped himself down on the chair next to Shiro, putting both his arms on the table and resting his head on it. Shiro giggles at him “Still doing good so far?” he asks.

Keith gives him a hum back not sure exactly what to say to Shiro. “Just drained.” he says instead, sounding a bit muffled due to his position.

Keith lifts his head from his arms on the table and looks at Shiro. “Well at least you’re doing well so far. I got you a sandwich beforehand; I know you don’t like eating much during the afternoon.” Shiro says as he hands Keith over said sandwich. Keith takes it with an appreciative smile. “You know me well. Thanks Shiro.” 

The both of them start eating their lunch as Shiro tells Keith what he had to do in the auditorium earlier and where he brought his group of students during the tour. Keith just nods and hums back. Still too tired to talk and reply back properly. As Shiro was in the middle of telling him that one of the students almost got lost during their tour, someone sits down on the seat right in front of them. Keith recognizes it’s Matt, Shiro’s friend.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were sitting here, Shiro?” Matt asks Shiro with a pout like he’s disappointed but knows he really isn’t. 

“Aha... Sorry. You were talking to one of the teachers so I really couldn’t come up and tell you where I’ll be sitting. It’d be rude.” Shiro scratches the back of his neck as he explains to Matt.

Matt didn’t say anything anymore and just gave him a nod while still slightly pouting. He looks towards Keith and says ‘hey’. Keith does the same. Keith has known Matt ever since his second year in high school; being friends with Shiro also meant he also became friends with Matt after being introduced to one another.

Matt tells them how the teacher he was talking with earlier was slowly chewing him out and how he wanted the conversation to end immediately. He was interrupted when someone sat right next to him. In front of Keith is the girl from the auditorium earlier. Pidge, he recalls her name. “Oh. Hey Pidge.” Matt says to her. 

_He knows her?_ Keith thinks, suddenly curious.

Pidge gives him a nod back then faces towards Shiro and Keith. “Hey you’re the guy from earlier." Pidge says to Keith with both her eyebrows slightly up. “You know Keith?” Matt asks her, confusion masking his face.

“Ah no. I sat beside him earlier during the orientation and he offered to switch seats with me because Lance wanted me to sit beside him and Hunk.” she explains. 

Okay, Keith is getting very confused now. How does Matt and Pidge know each other? Keith looks at Shiro and sees him looking confused as well. At least he isn’t the only one.

Sensing Keith and Shiro’s confusion, Matt is about to introduce them to Pidge when he was interrupted once again. Two more people sat down at their table and Keith notices it’s the guys from earlier as well. Lance sat beside him as Hunk takes a seat across from him, beside Pidge.

Before both Keith and Shiro get any more puzzled. Matt starts introducing them. 

“Shiro, Keith, this is my sister Pidge; and these are her friends Lance and Hunk.” Matt introduces simply and gestures to them. That’s all it took for Shiro and Keith to understand who these people are. The five of them say their greetings to each other.

“I didn’t know you have a sister.” Shiro tells Matt, surprise evident on his face.

“Yeah well now you know.” Matt smirks at him as Pidge giggles next to him.

All six of them have no problem talking to each other; getting to know one other slowly, or rather five of them start talking because Keith isn’t saying much. He knows it’s rude not to join in the conversation but he can’t force himself to join or talk back when he doesn’t feel like it at the moment. Keith wants to apologize to them but he keeps his mouth shut and listens to them instead. He kind of wished he ate his sandwich slowly just so he has something to do. 

Keith can feel Lance and Hunk’s eyes on him every now and then. Their glances making Keith feel suffocated. 

“You doing alright there?” Keith hears Lance ask. He turns his head towards Lance and realizes the question was directed to him. Keith stumbles forming words in his head before answering. 

“Yeah, I’m just tired.” Keith answers him. He really doesn’t want to explain to Lance how drained he’s feeling right now, how he badly needs a power nap before continuing the campus tour after their lunch is over.

As if Lance knew what Keith was thinking, he says “Why don’t you rest your head for a bit?” Keith looks at Lance, confused. “Yeah. We’ll wake you up once lunch is over.” Hunk tells him afterwards, a small smile on his face. Keith isn’t sure why they’re telling him to actually rest for a bit and that they’re going to wake him up when they barely know each other.

Keith is about to decline and tell them he doesn’t need to when Lance tells him “Dude, just rest for a bit, you look like you’re about to pass out; and don’t worry about it we’ll actually wake you up.” At this point Keith doesn’t know what to say anymore. If he looks and feels this bad then he probably really needs to close his eyes for a bit.

“Are you sure?” Keith asks them just to make sure.

“Positive.” Hunk reassures him.

Keith stares at them briefly before giving in and nodding his head. He sighs and gives them a small ‘thank you’ as he gets into a more comfortable position and places his arms back onto the table where he can place his head on. The moment he closed his eyes, he’s out like a light.

* * *

  
Someone is shaking his shoulder. Keith takes a moment to remember where he is before opening his eyes. He lifts his head up from his arms on the table and stretches a bit. After rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand he looks up and sees Lance next to him. 

_Huh. They really did wake me up._ Keith thinks.

Keith looks around him and sees Matt and Shiro has disappeared from their spot at the table. He remembers they’re both part of the welcoming committee and they have to continue with the tour. Students around them start grabbing their belongings and exiting the cafeteria already. Keith is glad they aren’t the only ones that haven’t left yet.

“Let’s go. We’re about to resume the tour and our group is waiting outside.” Lance tells him as he starts to stand up. Keith does the same and sees Hunk and Pidge walking ahead of them already on their way out. 

“Thanks for waking me up.” He says to Lance. Feeling really grateful that he woke him up.

“No problem. I hope that power nap helped though.”

“I think it did. I do feel much better compared to earlier though.” Keith shrugs.

Lance snorts. “Yeah, you did look like shit.” Keith bumps his shoulder with Lance’s at that and they both end up laughing.

They walk back to their group and resume with the campus tour. Keith realizes that after that short nap, he does feel better compared to this morning. With a new found energy, he stays close to the group rather than behind it this time. The occasional chatter between him, Lance, Hunk, and Pidge happens casually. In the short time during their tour, he gets to know a little more about them.

Keith learns that Pidge is taking computer science, and unsurprisingly skipped two years of high school because of how smart she is. Lance is taking astronomy but said he’s also taking up photography as an extra class. Hunk is taking mechanical engineering, says he wants to follow his parents’ footsteps.   
In return, he tells them he’s taking up fine arts.

Their conversations go from one topic to another and Keith is, simply to say, stunned at how easy the four of them talk to each other. Just a little bit over 4 hours ago they were mere strangers to one another, and here they are now talking like friends as if they haven’t seen each other in a while. The thought of this makes Keith smile. Earlier today, Keith wasn’t looking forward to this orientation at all. He was uncomfortable and scared about the number of things that can happen today, but now he think it’s kind of silly of him to think of that when he’s already surrounded by people who he now considers as friends.

It’s not easy for Keith to make friends. He’d rather have people talk to him first than him making the first move. He doesn’t like getting attached to people but Lance, Hunk, and Pidge have already made him comfortable with being around them. So he’ll take and accept this new found friendship he easily made with them.

After going through numerous buildings in the campus, they head back to the auditorium to be dismissed properly. Keith knows this university is big but he didn’t think it’d be this huge because now he feels tired; his feet ache and his legs feel like jello after walking for quite a while already. He can’t wait to get home, flop on his bed and rest.

All the freshman students were reminded to be in the auditorium again tomorrow at 9 AM to begin their team building exercises before finally getting dismissed for the day. Before Keith could exit the doors of the building he hears his name being called behind him. When he turns around he sees Lance with his arm up, waving at him; Pidge and Hunk walking beside him. 

Keith stops in his tracks and fully turns towards them. Lance tells him that they should exchange phone numbers before leaving. Keith feels wary about giving out his phone number to anyone but seeing the look on all three of their faces, it seems like they really do want to be friends and exchange numbers; so Keith agrees. They bid their farewell to one another and to see each other tomorrow before finally parting ways.

Outside the auditorium, Keith sees Shiro waiting for him. He walks towards him and finally head home together.

* * *

  
The first thing Keith did once they came back to their apartment is lock himself in his room and sleep. Keith knows he shouldn’t since there’s a big chance he’ll have trouble sleeping again tonight but after everything that happened today he feels tired and drained once again. He needs to be fully isolated this time.

When Keith woke up, he looks at the digital clock on his bedside table and sees it’s around dinner time already. He changed into more comfortable clothes before unlocking his door and going out. He spots Shiro already sitting by the dining table and he beckons Keith over to come and eat already. They eat silently. Shiro eats while reading a book, while Keith just stares at nothing in particular as he eats. 

Keith brought their dirty dishes over to the sink after finishing dinner and starts washing, while Shiro keeps the leftover food in containers and placing them in their fridge. They both say goodnight to one another before retreating back to their respective rooms.

As Keith is back on his bed, tucked underneath his blanket, he starts thinking about the events that happened today. Despite being nervous and stressed out this morning, things actually went well today. _Probably too well._ Keith starts doubting.

He knows he was feeling stressed, awkward and tired most of the day and what did he get in the end? He got to know three people and actually ended up being friends with them. Keith thinks this too good to be true; then he’s thinking. He starts thinking of a lot of different things but mainly about the pros and cons of having his day end the way it did.

Keith knows things would’ve turned out fine even if he didn’t make any friends today. He wonders why Lance, Hunk, and Pidge wanted to keep talking with him; he’s nothing special if he has to be honest. It makes him feel weird knowing that people actually want to hang out with him. It’s ridiculous to think about, Keith knows, but then again _he can’t help it._

Does he really deserve the kindness all three of them gave him? Did he deserve being woken up by Lance earlier when he didn’t really have to? Does he deserve to even be their friend? What exactly did Keith give them in return?

 _Do I deserve this?_ was the last thing Keith thought before drifting off to sleep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still not sure how many chapters this fic will have but I'll be updating a new chapter every now and then. 
> 
> Also, this will probably be really slow burn but let's jus see how this goes.


	2. Chapter 2

Orientation week wasn’t a week at all, it only lasted three days. On the second and third day, all they did was do team building exercises and participate in different workshops. By the end of their last day they announced that a welcoming party will be held on saturday just for the freshman students. Keith isn’t one for parties and since Shiro is going he knows he will be dragged out of his room to attend the gathering.   
The only thing Keith did during the two days before the party was play call of duty with Shiro on their shared PS4. Keith didn’t want to do anything that required his physical energy so he stayed indoors the entire time.

Nothing interesting happened during their ‘orientation week’, except this one time during their exercises that Keith’s mind wouldn’t get rid of. 

The teachers decided that the students stay with their group from the campus tour, which means Keith is still grouped with Lance, Pidge, and Hunk, and he’s thankful for this because at least he’s surrounded by people he already knows. One of the activities they did was scavenger hunt; the last task his group had to do was for all the members to climb the big tree that was in the middle of campus, sit on its thick branches, and take a picture. 

When they arrived to the open area where the tree was, they wasted no time and started helping each other climb up. The first two thick branches of the tree were low enough for them to climb and sit onto. Keith sees a few of his members climb a bit higher so everyone can fit on the lower branches.

Keith used to love climbing trees when he was young but he stopped when he started high school, so it has been a while since he climbed. He went to the base of the tree and looked up, the first branch not too far from the ground. Keith starts climbing rather slowly not wanting to misplace his foot or grab somewhere where he can’t place his grip on and risk falling down to the ground. He finally reaches the branch, placing his left hand on it. 

“Grab my hand.” someone says from above him.

When Keith looked up, Lance was sitting on the branch with his hand sticking out for him to grab onto. Keith didn’t hesitate and immediately grabbed onto Lance’s hand and was easily pulled up. Keith sat beside the base of the tree and held onto it; the fear of falling suddenly washes over him as he looks down.

“Woah...” Keith says as he tries to balance himself and get into a more comfortable position.

“Is this your first time climbing a tree?” Lance asks amusement evident on his face.

“No. I just haven’t climbed one in a long time. I forgot how it feels once you’re high up from the ground.” Keith looks back down below him and that just makes him hold tighter to the base of the tree.

Lance was about to say something until the leader of their group told them to get into position as he fixes the camera to get a good shot of everyone. Their leader puts it on timer and immediately runs towards the tree and climbs in record time. Once they know the picture has been taken, all of them start climbing down, others easily jumping down from the branch they’re sitting or standing on. Nope, Keith is not doing that. He knows he can’t do that, he has to climb back down properly.

Beside him, Lance jumps from the branch and lands on the ground safely. He looks back up to Keith who hasn’t moved from his position.

“Jump. I’ll catch you.” Lance was right below him with his arms stretched in front of him, ready to catch Keith.

“You’re insane! I can’t jump from here!” Keith exclaims. He knows he isn’t too far from the ground but it still scares him.

“You have to jump now or we’re leaving you here.” Lance says. A hand now placed on his hip and one eyebrow up.

Keith hesitates. “You have to catch me alright.” giving Lance a stern look.

Lance nods at him, arms stretched out once again ready to catch him. Keith takes a deep breath before closing his eyes and forcing himself to jump off the tree. He lets out a scream but was cut short when he felt himself fall into a pair of arms. Keith opens his eyes as Lance brings him down to his feet. 

“See? It wasn’t that difficult right?” Lance gives him an amused smile.

Keith realizes his arms are still wrapped loosely around Lance’s neck. Suddenly feeling embarrassed, he quickly pulls his arms away while taking a step back, giving them enough space.

He gives Lance a pout instead of answering back. Keith knows he only managed to force himself to jump because he knew Lance was there to catch him. 

“Let’s just go already, they might leave us.” Keith tells him as he starts walking towards where the rest of their members are. He hears a snicker behind him then suddenly Lance is running ahead of him telling him to catch up. Keith just shakes his head and chuckles before going off on a sprint.

In all honesty, Keith doesn’t exactly know why he keeps thinking about it; that particular moment with Lance. He has been thinking of reasons why but he hasn’t come up with anything. There isn’t anything special about it, Keith knows that; so why the fuck does he keep thinking about it?

* * *

When the day of the party came, Shiro had to push Keith to his bedroom and start getting ready for the night. Keith has no choice, so he dresses up in plain black jeans and a red sweater, not forgetting to pair it with the black boots he owns. He brings a few things with him and shoves it in his pocket; just for emergency if he gets bored or has to take a break from the party.

Upon arriving at the venue in the campus, the party was already in full swing. Different groups of people doing shots and beer pong, other’s dancing in the center of the room, and the rest scattered around in different areas talking with their friends. 

Keith already feels exhausted after just arriving and barely even started doing anything. If he has to get through this night then he needs a drink, preferably a strong one.

Shiro offers getting them drinks and tells Keith to look for Matt and the others. As Shiro leaves him, Keith starts looking around for their friends. He finds them sitting around a table by the corner. They seem to be having a lot of fun because he sees them laughing at something Lance is saying. Keith walks towards them until they notice him.

“Keith!” Matt exclaims. “I didn’t think you’d actually come since you hate parties.” Matt greets him, standing up and giving him a brief hug.

“I had no choice. You know Shiro will drag me whether I wanted to go or not.” Keith rolls his eyes half-heartedly and sighs.

Matt laughs at that. “Come sit down.” he gestures to the empty seat.

Keith takes the empty seat between him and Lance.

“Not surprised you aren’t into parties.” Lance gives him a smirk before drinking from the red plastic cup he’s holding.

“What gave it away?” lifting an eyebrow up, curious.

“Just your overall vibe; like you would rather spend time alone than interact with people.” Lance said, laughing a bit after saying that before putting his cup down.

“Well you’re not wrong.” Keith shrugs before giving him a smile.

Shiro finally comes to their table holding two red plastic cups. He handed one to Keith before sitting down on the empty chair beside Matt. Keith looks down at the liquid in his cup, stirring it a bit before taking a sip. The alcohol isn’t that bad and strong so he gulps it down in one go.

“Take it easy Keith, there’s a lot more.” Shiro tells him jokingly as the rest laugh along with him.

“Yeah, yeah I know.”

Keith stands up before saying “I’ll be right back. I need more if I want to get through the night.” he gives Shiro a small smile before leaving; not missing the head shake Shiro gave him.

He went to the table filled with various drinks. Keith has a lot to choose from but he settled with just filling his cup with a spiked fruit punch.

 _I really don’t want to be here._ Keith thinks too himself.

Sure, his friends are here, Shiro is here, but he just feels like being surrounded by a bunch of people right now isn’t the right time. Keith takes a sip of his drink before grabbing a bowl of peanuts at the end of the table and head towards the back door. He knows he can’t stay away from the party the entire night, Shiro will definitely start looking for him once he realizes Keith is taking way too long getting another drink; he just needs a little bit more time by himself before going back inside. 

Once outside, Keith spots a bench nearby and sits on it, setting the bowl of peanuts on his right. It’s a bit chilly outside and Keith is glad he decided to wear a sweater tonight. He starts eating the peanuts slowly while taking a sip from his cup every now and then, staring at nothing in particular. The area behind the venue is open with a few trees and lamp posts scattered around, nothing interesting to see.

When Keith brought the cup to his lips to take a sip once again, he sadly realizes he has finished his drink. He should’ve gotten more before going out because he doesn’t want to go back inside yet. Keith puts his cup down beside the half empty bowl of peanuts and stares back out ahead of him. 

Keith reaches inside his left pocket and takes his pack of cigarettes and white lighter out. The university doesn’t ban their students from smoking but they do have designated areas where they can smoke. He knows it’s bad but he rarely smokes and has it under control. 

He remembers the day when Shiro first found out. Keith was alone in their shared apartment and was out on the balcony smoking, he didn’t hear Shiro arrive and when the sliding door opened that’s when he saw him. He was surprised Shiro didn’t get mad at him but he noticed how his body went stiff when he asked Keith why and for how long. Keith only answered the latter and assured Shiro he only did it rarely and got it under control. He didn’t ask any more questions but told Keith he trusts him that he has it under control.  
Keith only felt slightly guilty when Shiro found out.

Keith took one cigarette out from the pack and places it between his lips, he lights the end of it before putting the pack and lighter back in his pocket. He takes a long puff of smoke every now and then. He doesn’t know how long he has been outside because the next thing he knows he can hear the backdoor from the venue open; Keith already knows it’s Shiro about to drag him back inside.

To his surprise, when he looks to his right it wasn’t Shiro who went out to get him, it was Lance. Keith immediately takes the cigarette from his mouth with his fingers and hides it beside him, away from Lance’s line of sight. Keith can’t make himself look at Lance because he knows he’s busted and will probably get an earful from him about how smoking is bad. Nothing came afterwards. Lance didn’t say a thing and just took a step forward and sat down beside him, the half empty bowl of peanuts and red plastic cup between them.

“You don’t have to stop just because I’m here.” Lance tells him.

 _Wait. What?_ Keith is suddenly confused. He finally looks at Lance, eyebrows scrunched together.

“Here. I grabbed another beer for you on my way out.” Keith didn’t even notice Lance was holding two bottles of beer on each hand. He hesitates a bit before taking the one offered to him, still feeling confused.

“I really don’t mind you smoking, so just go ahead.” Lance tells him one more time taking a sip from his bottle.

Keith takes his gaze off of Lance and brings back the cigarette he tried hiding from him. They sit in silence, not saying a word to each other; just the inhale and exhale Keith makes from smoking and the gulps Lance makes from drinking is the only thing that can he heard between them.

“Why’d you go out?” Keith finally asks him after a while.

Lance takes one more sip of his beer before answering him. “Shiro was going to look for you but I offered instead. I saw you outside from the window, so I got drinks before going out.”

“Besides, I needed to take a break from the party.” he adds.

Keith just nods his head, not knowing what to say or talk about anymore. He doesn’t know what came over him but the next thing he does is he brought his pack of cigarettes and lighter back out from his pocket, suddenly offering Lance one. Not saying anything, he just handed the pack towards him, waiting of Lance to get one.

“Want one?” he finally says.

Lance looks at him, surprised. It takes him a few seconds before getting one from the pack and grabbing the lighter from Keith. He looks down at the cigarette on his hand before placing it between his lips, he lights the end of it before giving the lighter back.

Keith keeps the pack and lighter once again and resumes smoking. He’s almost done with it already and has to throw it on the ground soon; he thinks he should smoke another one.

“I wasn’t sure you’d actually get one.” 

“I don’t smoke actually but I only tried it a couple of times back then.” Lance explains.

Keith only hums at that.

They sit back in silence, this time Lance smoking and Keith drinking the beer Lance gave him. The silence that surrounds them isn’t awkward at all but it’s comforting. Keith eventually relaxes at Lance’s presence and for some reason he silently thanks at the fact he feels comfortable around Lance; but somewhere at the back of his mind he thinks it’s just because of the alcohol he drank.

“There’s obviously something in your mind.” The silence around them broken by Lance as he exhales smoke taken from the cigarette.

“A lot of things.” Keith sighs and tips his head back looking up at the sky above them.

“You know you can talk to me about it if you want to.” Keith looks over at Lance. He’s halfway on his cigarette and it’s odd how he unexpectedly thinks that Lance looks attractive while smoking. Keith looks away, feeling flustered at how he thought of that just now.

“I know we only just met not too long ago but I mean it.” he says afterwards, finally looking at Keith.

Keith looks back up at him and sees the genuine smile Lance gives him. Keith can’t help but smile back.

“Thanks. Same to you.” and he means it when he tells Lance. Since Lance offered something like that then it’s only right to offer the same thing back. 

It doesn’t take too long for Lance to finish his cigarette and for Keith to finish his beer. They go back inside, Keith not forgetting to throw the red plastic cup away and bring the half empty bowl of peanuts back inside. Apparently they don’t see Shiro and the others anymore once they head to the table they occupied earlier. They look around and find the four of them dancing in the middle of the room surrounded by other people. 

The song being played was upbeat and old, probably something from around 2010 but it was still catchy. Lance and Keith can see their friends having fun and they both laugh at how some of the moves they did looked ridiculous. They looked at each other and decided to join their almost drunk friends on the dance floor.

* * *

The night was pretty much a blur from that point onwards, Keith wasn’t drunk, he knew that much because he only had a couple of drinks. In the end, it was Keith’s turn to drag Shiro home knowing how he was a lightweight. He doesn’t know how much Shiro drank but it’s best to bring him to the safety of their apartment before Shiro gets any more drunk than he already is. 

Keith said both of their goodbyes to their friends before leaving the venue. Shiro had one arm over Keith’s shoulder and is leaning at least half his weight on him. It was a challenging task but Keith still managed to bring Shiro back home safely. 

Once they arrived in their apartment, Keith brought Shiro to his room and let him lie down on his bed. He didn’t bother to change out of his clothes anymore and Keith is too tired to help him so he left him like that. Keith went back out and went straight to their kitchen where he grabbed the pain killers stashed away in a drawer and a glass of water for Shiro. He put it down on the bedside table in Shiro’s room and closed his door quietly as he left.

Keith sighs as he walks to his room. He closed his door, removed his shoes and stripped until he was only wearing his underwear; not forgetting to brush his teeth before climbing into bed. 

_Tonight was something, that’s for sure._ By the end of the party, Keith actually had a lot of fun. When he and Lance went back inside and started dancing with their friends, he managed to put his thoughts aside and enjoy the party as much as he can before it ended.

The feeling of weariness he had when they left the party dissipated once he was under the comfort of his blankets. Now Keith is wide awake once again late at night, alone with his thoughts. He hates this. Keith hates how almost every time he wants to sleep or let his exhaustion take him, it just doesn’t happen. It’s like once he’s alone in the comfort of his room where he won’t be disturbed, that’s the only time he starts thinking about too many things and it makes him feel worn out.

Funny how the physical exhaustion he feels is replaced by feeling emotionally drained. 

Keith turns to his right side and looks at his digital clock. It’s 1:45 AM. He sighs after reading the time and turns back to lie on his back, staring at ceiling instead. It’s times like these he wishes he owned a bottle of sleeping pills where he can just take one for the night and sleep peacefully without having to wake up in between every now and then.

He lets his mind think of earlier that evening; of him and Lance silently basking in each other’s presence while they smoke and drink beside each other. It’s such a simple moment but Keith considers it a small change of pace. Then again, Keith doesn’t want to think too much about it, see it as something that can potentially grow and go deeper. He let his guard down back then and he learned from it; he doesn’t want to make the same mistake twice.

Now Keith is starting to think he didn’t deserve that; that small, short, peaceful moment where he got away from the party and sat alone with Lance. _Out of all the possibilities, that happens._ Keith thinks to himself.

Keith closes his eyes and put his right arm over it. If he stayed inside the venue, surrounded by a lot of people, could he still have managed to get through the night? What if it was Shiro who went out to get him and saw him smoking again, what then? 

More questions start popping up, and he’s thinking about the possible scenarios that could’ve happened earlier. He doesn’t want to think about it but he can’t help it. For some reason _he has to think about it._

That’s the only thing Keith did almost the entire night, unwillingly submerge himself in his thoughts until he can’t take it anymore. Sometimes when it gets too much he has to cry and let a few tears out for a while. But he forced himself not to cry that night and tried distracting himself by using his phone the entire night.

Keith didn’t get any sleep and when morning came and he hears Shiro walk out of his room from the other side, that was the only time Keith forced himself to sleep; though he only managed to sleep for a few hours, which wasn’t enough.

* * *

Classes start the next week and Keith is starting to worry.

Though when Monday came, Keith didn’t have to worry about it that much because even though he had three different classes that day, his professors and fellow classmates acted as if it was any other school day and he was thankful for that.

It took a while, but a few weeks after starting college, Keith finally adjusted to his schedule. He had half days every Tuesdays and Fridays. A month later, he got a part-time job at a grocery store that’s a little bit further away from their apartment and university; he had 6 hour shifts there every Sunday, Tuesday and Friday. Keith is glad they gave him shifts that would accommodate his schedule and not give him a difficult time if he was given different shifts on other days.

Keith isn’t very smart; he’s just your average student trying to pass one class after the other. When his plates, along with the individual and group projects he has to do start piling up one by one, Keith would either do it locked in the confines of his room or head to the library to do his work there instead so he could get it done as soon as possible.

Keith got into that routine easily, getting to finish his homework’s in time or earlier than its due date. Today, he spends the remains of his afternoon in the library to finish his partially done works.

On the second floor of the library, there’s a decent sized table with a few chairs around it by the corner, where people rarely go. Keith likes to think he claimed that table because as far as he knows, he’s the only one who stays in that area whenever he comes by to do his works.

What Keith wasn’t expecting today, not that he was expecting anything at all, was for someone to come by and use the table he was using too. Keith didn’t want to look up and look at the person’s face; he just wanted to do his work alone and quietly.

Deciding to ignore the person across from him, Keith brings his full attention back on the plates he needs to continue. 

“Keith?” he hears the person say. 

Hearing his name being called, Keith lifts his head up and finally looks at the person in front of him. His eyebrows shoot up; surprised to see it’s Lance sitting right across from him.

“Oh- Lance! I didn’t know it was you.” 

Lance chuckles at that. “It’s alright; I can see you’re busy anyways. Do you mind if I stay here for a while? Most of the tables downstairs are occupied and I wanted to be somewhere a bit more isolated.” he asks Keith, shrugging his shoulders a bit.

“I don’t mind. Stay as long as you want.” Keith answers as he shook his head sideways. Sure, Keith wanted to be alone but he already knows Lance and has gotten comfortable around him.

“Thanks!”

Keith watches Lance bring his laptop out from his backpack and put it on the table. Before he could go back to finishing his plates he sees Lance put on a pair of glasses. Keith squints at him.

“I didn’t know you wear glasses.” he asks suddenly.

“It’s just reading glasses, I don’t use them often.” giving Keith a small smile as he says.

Keith just nods back and doesn’t question anything anymore. He goes back to finishing his plates and Lance does his work across from him.

They once again sit in silence doing their works, not one word exchanged from either of them since Lance put his reading glasses on. It was only until two hours later, Keith finally finished his plates and he stretched his arms above him making a small noise as he does so. 

Lance looks up from his laptop and asks Keith, “Are you done already?” pushing his glasses back to the bridge of his nose.

Keith brings his arms back down and begins to pack his things. “Yeah, I’ve been here for over three hours already and my wrists and back are starting to hurt.”

“Great! Because I just finished too.” Lance says as he starts to close his laptop and pack his things as well; not forgetting to remove his glasses.

Feeling slightly skeptical and curious, Keith asks Lance “Did you just wait for me to finish?”

Lance stops what he’s doing and looks up. “Kind of.” he shrugs.

“You know you really didn’t have to. You could’ve just left when you wanted to.” Keith sighs as he starts standing up, not forgetting to push the chair back towards the table before he leaves.

Lance does the same and catches up to Keith to walk beside him. “Nah. I wanted to wait for you; it would be too boring to walk home alone.” 

“So you wanted to walk home with me?” Keith gives him a smirk as he asks.

“W-well why not? I mean it’s been a while since we last saw each other.” Lance stutters a bit, scratching the back of his neck suddenly feeling a bit embarrassed. 

Once they were out the doors of the library, the sun was already setting. Keith really has to go home now if he doesn’t want to miss dinner and make Shiro worry. He was about to say goodbye to Lance but Lance beat him to it.

“Do you want to grab a coffee instead before heading home?” Lance suddenly suggested out of the blue

Keith, surprised asks him “Are you sure?”

“I should be the one asking you that since I asked. So, you want?” Lance gives him a cheeky smile while pointing the other way with his thumb.

 _It wouldn’t hurt to just grab a coffee before going home right?_ Keith asks himself. He debates a little bit inside his head and chews his bottom lip before nodding to Lance. “Lead the way.”

Lance leads the both of them to the other side of campus where the nearest café is, not too far away from the library. As they head inside the smell of strong coffee, both bitter and sweet, fills Keith’s nostrils as he hears the loud sound of coffee beans being grinded somewhere from behind the counter. 

Over the past two months, Keith has never gone to the other side of campus and grab a cup of coffee because all of his classes are in one side of the campus only, so he really doesn’t need to go to the other side. As for coffee, Keith is just too lazy to walk all the way here and order a cup.

It’s a good thing there aren’t a lot of students around since it’s a Thursday, which means there are more vacant seats than usual.

“What do you want?” Lance asks him as they both line up.

“What?” Keith looks beside him and he sees Lance looking up at the menu behind the counter.

“Just tell me your order and you can go grab a table for us.” 

“Lance, I can pay for my own drink.” Keith will not allow Lance or anyone for that matter to pay for his coffee, let alone anything for him when he has the money for it.

“It’s fine!” Lance just waves a hand in front of him. “Then how about I pay for your coffee now and then you pay for mine next time?” he suggests to Keith.

Keith knows that if he doesn’t agree to it they will be stuck in this loophole arguing with each other about paying and not paying for the other’s drink.

“Fine.” Keith relents and lets Lance buy his coffee. “I’ll have a cold brew.”

“Roger that! Now go get us a table.” Lance says a little bit too enthusiastically and nods his head to the side but Keith doesn’t mind it and leaves him to line up to go find a table.

Keith found a vacant table by the corner where the floor to ceiling glass window is. He settled down and placed his bag on his lap. _Crap. I have to text Shiro._ Keith suddenly remembers that he’ll be arriving home a bit later than usual. He brings his phone out from his pocket and sends Shiro a quick text before shoving it back in.

Lance didn’t take too long to order their drinks. Keith watches him grab both of it and head towards the table Keith is at. 

“One cold brew for Keith Kogane.” Lance announces with a wink.

Keith just scoffs at him half-heartedly and shakes his head as he gets his drink from him. Lance placed his bag on the extra chair beside their table before sitting down. 

“What did you order?” Keith asks him as he sips his coffee.

“Just an iced hazelnut latte.” Lance tells him nonchalantly.

The main reason why Keith asked him was because since he has to buy Lance’s drink next time there’s at least a fifty-fifty chance he’ll order the same one.

Keith looks around the café. The place isn’t big nor is it small but it’s just the right size for it to be placed on campus grounds. The inside is air conditioned at just the right temperature and it has this cozy aura; he also notices a few picture frames hanging on the walls. He looks around a bit more and notices that a couple of students are on their laptops, most likely doing their work that’s due tomorrow or a week from now. 

He looks back at Lance, and he’s looking at him. For some reason it makes him feel something inside.

“What?”

“You haven’t been to this café before haven’t you?” Lance asks.

“I haven’t. I don’t really go to this side of the campus because all of my classes are in the other side.” he shook his head as he explains to him.

Lance hums at that. “You should come here when you can; their drinks are great aside from the boring one you just ordered.” he snickers at him afterwards.

“Cold brew is good as it is.” Keith pouts at him, acting as if he was offended but Lance just laughs at him and resumes drinking his coffee.

Keith looks at him for a while, observing. He notices the small crinkle at the end of his eyes whenever he smiles or laugh and Keith is starting to think it’s probably one of the cutest things to witness. _It’s not weird to think about that right?_ Keith thinks to himself. Even he thinks Shiro is cute sometimes so what’s the difference if he thinks the same way towards Lance?

“Earlier in the library, were you doing your paper?” Keith asks him just to get something to talk about rather than to sit in silence once again.

“Ah- I was but then I just continued editing my photos afterwards.” Lance says.

Keith almost forgot that Lance is taking photography as an extra class. “Can I see?” feeling suddenly intrigued to see his photos.

Lance’s eyes widen a little bit then he’s quickly shaking his head. “Oh dear god no! I haven’t finished editing everything yet.” he says sheepishly.

“But… it will be up in the gallery along with a few others taken by other people. It’s a small project we have to do.” Lance quickly adds. “You can come see it if you want.”

The way Lance looks at him seems to be hopeful. Keith just hopes he’s reading his facial expression right. He thinks a bit about Lance’s offer; it’d be cool to see what photos he took.

“Sure! When will it be?” Nodding his head, he accepts Lance’s offer.

“Two weeks from now, I’ll text you the details later.” Lance tells him giving him a toothy smile.

Keith doesn’t know how much time has passed but they fall into a nice conversation, talking about the works they have to do and which teachers are a pain in the ass. They talk about nothing and everything at the same time and it’s a nice feeling to just listen and laugh with him. He learns a little bit more about Lance and concludes that this guy loves talking, whether it be about himself or not.

It’s not until Keith hears his phone ring from his pocket that he notices that it’s getting late and Shiro is calling him. He excuses himself from the conversation he’s having with Lance and answers the call, apologizing to Shiro and telling him he’s on his way home already.

Once he ends the call, he turns back to Lance.

“You have to go home now, huh?” Lance asks him with a fond look on his face.

“Yeah” Keith scratches the back of his neck. “I’m sorry-“

“No, no. I was the one who invited you to get coffee. I should’ve been more aware of the time.” he interrupts Keith. “I’m should be the one apologizing for keeping you here longer than necessary.” 

They both stand up, grabbing their empty cups to throw it in the trashcan on their way out. “You don’t have to apologize. I enjoyed our time.” He turns to Lance as he says this.

“Me too.” He flashes his contagious smile. Keith can’t help but smile back. 

“I’ll see you soon then?” Lance asks him before they have to part ways.

“Of course.” He tells Lance before saying each other’s goodbyes and parting ways.

As Keith starts walking towards his and Shiro’s apartment, he only feels slightly guilty he completely forgot to go home as soon as possible. He can’t help but think about the time he had with Lance just now and how much he wants to that again soon. _This feels weird but nice._

Keith doesn’t usually let himself spend time like this with anyone except for Shiro; he doesn’t even do this with Matt. It feels nice and different and he likes it. 

… He just has to remind himself to not let his walls down and get _too_ comfortable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I only proof read this a few times, so I'm sorry if there are still a few mistakes ~
> 
> I'll probably be updating a new chapter every 4 days to a week, so it depends.
> 
> edit: I just realized I made a mistake after uploading this chapter. If you noticed it and got confused, I’m sorry and I have already changed it ! (no major changes, just minor)


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